Bangladesh: Two Killed In Anti-Government Protest

Two people were killed and dozens injured in clashes in Bangladesh on Tuesday between anti-government protesters and police on the first day of a three-day protest to push for the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) called for the blockade of roads for three days in response to clashes between party supporters and police on Sunday in which one policeman was killed and more than 100 people were injured.

The party has been calling on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign to allow elections scheduled for January to be held under a neutral caretaker government.

Her government has rejected the demand.

A police official in the central district of Kishoreganj, where the clashes took place, said two protesters were killed and dozens of people, including 15 policemen, were injured.

“Clashes erupted when they attacked us,” said the police official, who declined to be identified, adding it was not clear how the two were killed.

We had to fire rubber bullets to bring the situation under control,” he said.

“This brutal killing by the police is cowardly,” said BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.

Hasina came to power in 2009 and oversaw years of strong economic growth but she has been accused of rights violations, cracking down on free speech and suppressing dissent with the jailing of critics.

REUTERS